DelhiPlanet Weekends : The Perfect 10
July 6, 2008 by krisdhingra
Filed under Specials
0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, 10 digits which when put together can form infinite other numbers and quantities. Each of these digits have some special characteristics and qualities associated with them both mathematically and numerologically as well as historically. The Number 9 is regarded as the King Of all numbers as it is the only number which when multiplied by any either natural number would always have the sum of the digits as 9. The Number 7 on the other hand is also quite significant as it occurs very frequently in our nature and life (7 Colors of the Rainbow, 7 Days Of the Week, 7 Chakras in the Human Body, 7 Deadly Sins etc. ).
And then there is something special about the number 10 as well - it is a sign and symbol of perfection. 10 on 10 is the sign of a perfect score, All the great sportsmen in history have been associated with the number 10. So much so that if you are watching a football match and wish to know who the best player in the team is, then all you need to do is to find out who wears the Number 10 jersey.
This week DelhiPlanet delves back into history to re-capture some amazing moments and re-live the magic of the Perfect 10.
When The Aussies Were Lakered
It’s not very often that you see the Aussies humbled in cricket and that too by one man. However in 1956 during the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford, one man single handedly destroyed the Aussies with figures of 19/90 for the entire test. Jim Laker took 9 wickets for 37 runs in the first innings of the test match and 10 wickets for 53 runs in the second innings. Laker who was married to an Austrian national at the time and she didn’t happen to know much about cricket. On the day of his achievement when he arrived home, his wife asked him, “Jim, did you do something good today?” after she had taken hundreds of congratulatory telephone calls. Remarkably, Laker had also taken all ten wickets in an innings for Surrey against the same Australians earlier in the season, the first time a bowler had taken all ten against the Australians since Ted Barratt did so in 1878.
Jim Laker’s record of 19/90 was something that happens only once in the lifetime of a sport and it is very unlikely that it would ever happen again. Surely a great example of a Perfect 10.
The Perfect 10 X 7
At the tender age of 14, Romanian Gymnast Nadia Elena Comaneci became one of the stars of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. During the team portion of the competition, her routine on the uneven bars was scored at a 10.0. It was the first time in modern Olympic gymnastics history that the score had ever been awarded. In those days the scoreboards were not even equipped to display scores of 10.0—so Nadia’s perfect marks were reported on the boards as 1.00 instead. Over the course of the Olympics, Comaneci would earn six additional 10s, en route to capturing the all-around, beam and bars titles and a bronze medal on the floor exercise. The Romanian team also placed second in the team competition.
After Nadia there have been very few other gymnasts who have managed to get the perfect score of 10. America’s Mary Lou Retton is another name that comes to mind. Mary had perfect 10s on floor exercise and vault in the 1984 Summer Olympics. These days however it’s not possible to score a perfect 10, not because the gymnasts are not upto it but because the new perfect score is now 17.
Just like Laker, Nadia’s performance was also something that is most unlikely to be ever repeated by anyone. Yet another instance of a Perfect 10.
When Pakistan Were Kumbled
Well, for this one we’ll just let the images and the video do the talking. Anil Kumble’s feat of 10 wickets in a innings was surely a great achievement which happened right here in Delhi and it just goes to show that even Indian sportsmen are capable of achieving the perfect score.
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